Prof Dr Paul Poku Sampene Ossei, a forensic Histopathologist and former Head of Pathology at KNUST and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), has urged the NDC and NPP to come together and fight galamsey.
According to Prof Sampene, Ghana is heading toward a public health disaster if decisive action is not taken to tackle illegal mining.
Prof Sampene argued that political point-scoring and complacency will only deepen the crisis.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 27, Prof. Dr Paul Poku Sampene Ossei stated, “I would have wished that the two main political parties, NDC and NPP, come together and say enough is enough”.
“Whatever it is that we are doing, whether we are downplaying the whole thing or using it as political capital, it will not help anybody. We should be very serious about it and solve this problem,” he stressed.
Prof. Sampene further highlighted the extent to which illegal mining activities are affecting maternal and child health.
He explained, “The placentas are all contaminated, polluted with heavy metals. I have examined over 4,000 of them from different regions in Ghana, and both the maternal side and the foetal side show these metals.”
“Do we have what it takes to even solve the kidney diseases that are coming out now? Dialysis is very expensive, and nobody gets it for free. Children are also being diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. These are the realities we have to face,” he cautioned.
He further revealed, “Most of them fear for their lives, but they tell me they are recording a lot of deformities in babies. This is very real.
If the child is at risk, let us see how best we can mitigate it so that the child will survive and live a quality life one day.
Otherwise, we will soon see people walking but with very high cognitive impairment. Mercury inhalation alone can damage the brain. We are seriously in trouble,” he warned.
In related galamsey news, three illegal miners have been reported dead after a galamsey pit collapse at Twifo Mampong in the Twifo Atti-Morkwa District of the Central Region on Thursday.
Reports suggest the victims were part of a group of five who entered the pit secretly.
At around 1 am, the walls of the mine collapsed, trapping the galamseyers in the pit.
The Twifo Praso District Police Command, the DCE Isaac Tawson, NADMO, and the Ghana National Fire Service were able to retrieve three bodies from the pit after four hours of rescue work.
The fourth body is yet to be retrieved; however, the fifth person operating a pumping machine outside the pit escaped the pit collapse.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, has given a detailed breakdown of the government’s illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey fight, after eight months in office.
According to the Lands Minister, 1400 galamseyers have been arrested, 440 excavators and over 800 changfans have also been seized in 8 months of the NDC government.
He reaffirmed the Mahama government’s commitment to protecting the environment and also regulating opportunities in the mining sector.